One Last Secret
by nrlmuffins
Summary: In the finale of the "Secrets" series, Brian's questions are finally answered: Why is Alex such a jerk? How can the Volturi force his pack to be guard dogs? Will he and Taylor ever be together? But in learning the answers to these questions, Brian will have to keep one last secret from his pack... a secret that could destroy everything...
1. The Bars of a Castle

**A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city; and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. -Bible**

With an almost effortless toss, I make yet another basket. It's crazy. After years of horrible hand-eye coordination, I don't think I'll ever be completely used to the motor skills that come with being a werewolf.

"Since when can you make a three pointer?" asks a snarky voice from my right. I look up to see Alex standing on the sideline of our driveway-turned-basketball court. Like my friends and I, he's not wearing a coat despite the below freezing temperature. Unlike us, he's rubbing his arms in a vain attempt to stay warm.

"Lucky shot," I say, ignoring the amused glances from my pack. I pass the ball to John and try to make it a convincingly unskilled throw. Instead, the ball lands perfectly in John's hands. Typical. I spend my whole life playing like crap, and now the one moment I actually have to pull off a bad pass, I can't do it.

John shifts the focus to himself, covering for me. "Wanna play?" he asks Alex, giving him what would be an easy pass for the rest of us. Even with his above average human reflexes, he barely catches it.

I glare at John from the corner of my eye, but he just shrugs. I don't have a problem with Alex playing, but it's always bugged me that he'd rather play with John than his own brother.

Alex passes the ball nervously between his hands. "The teams would be uneven," he mumbles. This time, John looks to me for permission.

In the spirit of the season (even though Christmas was last week), I throw on a smile and say, "You play, Alex. I bet Kyle's tired of me holding him back anyway." Kyle snorts beside me. Until Alex interrupted, I was our leading scorer.

I don't get a thank you, but I dutifully stand on the sidelines pretending to be cold. Kyle, Ben, and John all back down on their game, deliberately missing shots and passes, and allowing Alex to steal the ball occasionally. That aside, I will admit he keeps up pretty well on his own. I wonder why he didn't go out for the school team.

Oh, that's right. He's a bedroom troll.

Not for the first time, I wonder why he spends so much time by himself. He used to be the Kyle of his grade- everyone liked him, he was great at sports, and (as much as I hate to admit it) he got his first kiss years before I did. What happened to him?

The backdoor creaks open as Mom peaks out. "Okay, boys, I know you aren't cold but- Alex!" She stares at him for a second, completely losing track of her sentence. "I didn't know you were out here."

"Yeah, so? Is it a crime to play basketball?" Alex snaps.

Mom purses her lips and glares at him. At least, I think she does. My vision is suddenly blurry and red around the edges. My body feels even hotter than usual and a tremor runs down my spine.

"Brian!" a low voice hisses. I look up to see a very concerned John staring at me. I take a very, very deep breath and am back in control. Fortunately, no one else noticed me almost lose it.

"Anyone want hot chocolate?" Mom asks, as cheerfully as possible.

John almost dies of happiness. "Thanks, Aunt Sarah!" he says while running into the house. Mom smiles, and we all follow John inside.

Mom passes out four steaming mugs of hot chocolate to everyone but me, then discretely pours another mug of milk and makes my hot chocolate. She shoots me an apologetic glance, which I return with a forced smile. I guess waiting for my drink is better than watching Alex blow up because he didn't get one.

We're just finishing the last few drops of hot chocolate and fighting over the remaining marshmallows when Mom starts, "Once you're all finished, I was wondering if you could do a few jobs for me-"

"So this was bribe chocolate? I feel dirty now," Kyle grumbles, shaking his head.

Mom laughs. "I need some muscle to help me set up for the party tonight," she finishes.

"What party?" demands Alex.

"The party we have every year on New Year's Eve," I reply dryly.

"I didn't know it was New Year's Eve, smarts," Alex snaps.

I notice John watching me carefully, but he doesn't have to worry. I can handle my brother's stupid comments, what I can't handle is-

"Why do we have to help? We were in the middle of a game!" Alex growls to my mother.

That. I cannot take it when Alex is rude and disrespectful to my mother. I hold my breath, and try to calm myself down. Still, I can feel the fire threatening to explode inside me.

"No problem, Aunt Sarah!" John says, overenthusiastically. "What do you need done first?"

Because I'm facing away from her, I don't think Mom notices my tense stance, but I can feel Kyle and Ben watching me nervously.

"Thanks, John," Mom says kindly. "I need the table leaves put in and all the soda and ice brought in from the shed."

"I'll get the ice," I volunteer. I stand up and leave the room before anyone can say anything. My plan doesn't work all that well, though, because Ben and Kyle are almost immediately behind me.

"You okay?" Kyle asks carefully.

"I'm fine," I say shortly, making it clear that the conversation is over. They take the hint, and instead focus on our job. We fill the huge buckets with ice and cans of soda, then I take the first one into the house while they work on the others.

Inside, I set the bucket down as John easily carries his table leaf to the kitchen. He pauses to wait for Alex and calls, "Got it?"

"Yeah," Alex grunts. Determined to be like John, I'm sure, he carries the leaf by himself. He manages to do it, but with much more difficulty than John had. Slightly out of breath, he helps John put the table together.

"Your mom wants that it behind the couch," John tells me, gesturing to the bucket.

"Okay," I reply. Despite the weight of the ice and cans of soda, I have no problem lifting the bucket.

I don't think anything of it until Alex breathes, "Damn."

I look up. "What?"

"How…. you… isn't that heavy?" he gasps.

I shrug, not wanting to draw attention to my superhuman abilities again today. Guess I just did. Crap.

"Let me try," Alex insists. I let him, mostly because a cruel part of me wants to watch him struggle with it.

With amazing effort and determination he moves the bucket the five feet required to put it behind the couch. Panting but proud of himself, Alex turns to me and says, "See? Not- not that hard." He sits down to catch his breath.

At that moment, Ben and Kyle come in, each carrying two buckets. "Where do we put these?" Ben asks.

"Behind the couch," I say. As easily as a toddler moves a teddy bear, Ben and Kyle carry both buckets to Alex and set them down. Neither is panting.

Alex gapes at them, still out of breath. "Are- are you guys on… steroids or something?"

"Yeah, they're awesome, dude. Wanna try some?" Kyle replies in a voice brimming with sincerity.

"Really?" Alex asks, shocked.

Kyle snorts. "Course not. It's called puberty. And regular exercise." He flexes to prove his point. Not counting his muscle man bit in the middle of my kitchen, I admire Kyle's quick and believable cover-up.

"You haven't hit your growth spurt, yet," Ben adds. "Your time will come, don't worry." A wave of nerves hit me as Ben says that. He can't possibly mean a growth spurt like ours. Alex is too young to be a wolf.

"Yeah, but it just seems like you all grew around the same time," Alex mumbles skeptically.

I shoot this one down. "That's because you never leave your room. You can really miss a lot that way."

Alex glares at me, and drops the subject.

A few hours later the party is in full swing. The whole family is here, including the old pack and their families. I keep getting stopped by old pack members who either interrogate me on bloodsucker sightings, or try to tell me stories of the "glory days." I do my best to be polite, but sneak off to the corner of the couch as soon as I can.

I've watched about two seconds of _Dick Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve_ when I feel someone sit next to me. "Hey, Brian!"

Nessie offers me a huge smile and asks, "How's it going?"

"Not bad," I answer reluctantly. Don't get me wrong, Nessie is my favorite Cullen. She seems the most human to me, probably because she is. Still, that doesn't change the fact that she represents something I've been trying to forget for all of winter break.

Jake sits down next to Nessie and throws his arm casually around her shoulders. "What's up, Brian?"

"Nothing much," I say, reluctant to see my uncle for the same reason I don't want to talk to Nessie. "How's everybody?"

"They're good," he replies. Leaning closer to me and dropping his voice, he adds, "And don't worry about the border. Alice is watching it like a hawk until midnight, though she could keep an eye on it longer if you want."

"No, that's fine," I say firmly. "Honestly I'm nervous enough just leaving it unguarded for this long."

Jake nods knowingly. "Understandable. But as long as you stay away, Alice can keep watch. Plus, our little friend hasn't shown up in a while."

"Still," I say.

He nods again, then says to Nessie, "I'm going to say hi to Sarah."

"I'll come too. See ya, Brian!" she calls cheerfully.

They leave me alone, but before I can focus on the show I'm interrupted again. "Hey, Brian!"

"Hi, Aunt Leah," I say. At least Aunt Leah doesn't remind me of… that.

"So, I never really got a chance to talk to you on Christmas. How's life?" she asks, sitting down beside me.

"Good," I reply.

"Jake tells me your little friend hasn't shown up in a while?" she continues, glancing around to make sure we aren't being overheard.

"No, not for a while now, which is good."

"But at the same time, it's not good, because she could be plotting something," she adds knowingly. "Damn bloodsuckers."

I laugh. "Pretty much."

Werewolf small talk out of the way, she flips back into normal aunt mode. "Besides that, is everything good?"

"Yeah, school's good. I like Chemistry." Great, now I'm reminding myself of that.

Aunt Leah grins deviously. "Yeah, your mom mentioned something about your lab partner-"

Please don't. I've being trying so hard not to think of-

"Taylor, right?"

Crap.

The second I hear her name, it's like my whole body is on fire. But this fire is nothing like the heat I felt in my earlier anger. This fire is warm and beautiful. And I hate it.

"Yeah," I say through my teeth.

If Aunt Leah notices my discomfort, she doesn't feel the need to change the subject. "So you're one of those now, huh? One of those brain-dead, lovesick puppies fawning all over her?" I can't tell if she's irritated or amused.

"I guess so," I mumble. Lovesick puppy? I'd prefer not to think of it that way.

"Yeah, imprinting is sweet, I guess, but it's much too messy. I'm so glad I never imprinted." This time she is definitely irritated, not amused.

"Well, yeah," I agree, thinking of how messed up my life is because of imprinting. "But it's not terrible," I add, thinking of Taylor's beautiful hair, eyes, smile, the way her eyes light up when she finally understands something in Chem, how it sounds when she says my name-

"So, let me get this straight," Aunt Leah continues, interrupting my train of thought. "You imprinted on her, but she's dating Sam's son?"

"Yeah."

"And he's in your pack now, right?"

"Right," I agree.

Aunt Leah purses her lips, confused. "And she knows about all this?"

"Yeah."

She's quiet for a minute. "And you're okay with her dating him?"

"If it makes her happy," I say immediately.

She stares at me. "Imprinting is messy," she repeats.

I sigh. "Tell me about it."

Laughing, Aunt Leah says, "Oh, I could if you wanted me to! But I won't. I'll just say that I find this incredibly ironic." She shakes her head. "At least a Clearwater gets to hurt a Uley this time around."

"What? I don't want to hurt Kyle!" I'm not even sure what she's talking about, honestly, but I know that hurting Kyle is the last thing on my mind.

Aunt Leah sighs. "Long story short, Sam and I dated for a while, until he wolfed up and imprinted on Emily. He dumped me for obvious reasons, and couldn't tell me why for the same reasons." Even after all these years, there is still some bitterness in her face.

"I didn't know that," I mumble.

She shrugs. "Yeah, well, I got over it obviously." She smiles in the direction of my uncle. "And everything worked out for the best. Still, I was really hurt for a long time. But eventually you'll end up together, and everything will be great."

"Not necessarily," I say, some disappointment leaking into my voice.

Aunt Leah stares at me. "Seriously, Brian? Look around. There are seven imprinted wolves in this room, not counting you, and they are all married to those girls."

"That doesn't really mean anything," I mumble, glancing around anyway. I realize she's right. Does that mean I actually have a chance with Taylor?

Before we can continue our conversation, Aunt Leah and I are joined by John, Ben, and Kyle. I immediately feel guilty for my conversation with Aunt Leah, and try to forget it.

"Hey, your mom's looking for you," Ben says. No sooner are the words out of his mouth when Mom herself strolls over.

"Brian, honey, can you do me a favor? We're almost out of root beer. Can you go to the shed and get some more?" she seems slightly frazzled from hosting the party.

As much as I love my mother, I really don't want to get up. I'm lazy. "Mom, do you really need it now? People can just drink other stuff!"

She gives me a mom version of an Alpha glare. "Brian," she growls.

"You don't want to mess with your mom, Brian," Aunt Leah says. "She once attacked Sam with a metal bat."

"What?! No, she didn't!" Kyle gasps.

John shakes his head. "False! Aunt Sarah's too nice!"

Mom cracks a smile. "Leah, if you're going to tell that story, at least tell it right!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. It was a crowbar, right? Because you couldn't find a bat?" Aunt Leah says, grinning.

"I didn't actually hit him," Mom mumbles. "I just threatened to."

"Why?" I ask.

"We had a slight disagreement, but we got over it quickly," she says dismissively. "Now please get that root beer, Brian!"

I stand up. "Okay, but you have to give me the full story someday."

"Someday," she agrees reluctantly.

I force myself to get off the couch and get the root beer. As soon as I walk out the backdoor, my super-hearing picks up my name.

"Okay, now that Brian's gone we can talk about him!" Aunt Leah's voice drips in excitement. I didn't realize I was that interesting.

"He can probably still hear us," the ever-wise (and mildly pessimistic) Ben comments.

"No, he can't," Aunt Leah says airily. "So tell me, boys, is Brian a good Alpha?"

"Yeah, actually," John says, as though he can hardly believe it himself. "I didn't think he would be, because he's not really the leader type, but he does a good job."

"Yeah, I know," Kyle agrees. "He didn't even want to be line leader in first grade. I can't believe he's cool with being leader of a wolf pack!"

"Maybe that's why he's good at it," Ben says. "He doesn't want the power or anything."

"Has he given any Alpha commands yet?" Aunt Leah asks.

"Only one," John grumbles.

"I think Sam gave one an hour, honestly," Aunt Leah laughs bitterly. "Jake only gave one that I can remember. It's my fault, too. I didn't like listening."

"Yeah, that was my problem," John sighs. "That and the fact he abuses me." Ben and Kyle laugh.

"It's part of the job description of a Beta to be the Alpha's punching bag," Aunt Leah replies. "Jake yelled at me all the time. Just make sure you kick his butt whenever needed. He'll appreciate it once he stops yelling."

John laughs bitterly. "Thanks. He doesn't really get mad very often though."

"That would be the Seth in him, I guess," Aunt Leah observes. "That kid was never upset."

"Well, there is one thing that bothers him," John says quietly. Fortunately, I'm almost back to the house, or I wouldn't have been able to hear his comment. Unfortunately, I think I know what he's going to say. But he wouldn't. Not with my mom in the room.

"What?" Aunt Leah demands curiously.

"He'll kill me," John mumbles. He's not wrong.

"No, he won't," she insists.

John hesitates. I walk faster.

"Alex really irritates him," he mumbles.  
Mom laughs morbidly. "I think he irritates everyone."

"No, what really bothers Brian is the way Alex treats you, Aunt Sarah." As John says this, I reenter the house. My pack obviously notices and shuts up. I calmly put the root beer in the ice buckets, then calmly walk towards the group on the couch.

Mom has a fake smile on her face as she says, "Thanks, honey!" with extra cheer.

"You're welcome," I reply. Then I pick up the nearest pillow and smack John as hard as I can with the plush object.

"Told you he abuses me," he grumbles.

"Told you he could hear," Ben says.

Any hope of façade gone, Mom says, "Brian, honey, I don't want this to bother you-"

For my sake, her sake, and that of everyone in immediate proximity to a potentially dangerous werewolf, I take a deep breath and cut her off. "Mom, it's not a big deal. It just bothers me when he's rude to you."

"But if you're getting this upset-"

"I'm not. I just don't like it." I say shortly. I feel mostly in control of myself, but my pack is watching me carefully.

"Okay," Mom says slowly.

Dad enters and breaks the awkward silence. "Two minutes to midnight! Champagne for the ladies," he hands both Mom and Aunt Leah a bubbly glass. "And juice for the boys." He gives each of us a juice box.

"Seth!" Mom moans. "You were supposed to get sparkling apple cider, not apple juice!"

He shakes his head. "But that was more expensive! Plus, the girls really seem to like it!" He gestures towards Molly and Aunt Leah's daughters, Lexi and Anna. All three are under the age of ten, and therefore are barely awake. Anna sips quietly on her juice.

"Anna, honey, you don't drink it until the ball drops!" Dad calls.

She stops drinking, but makes no other sign that she heard him. Molly and Lexi's eyes flutter as they fight sleep.

Beside me, Kyle's phone rings. He quickly answers, "Hello? Hey, babe!"

Despite Dad's warning, I take a sip of my juice for something to do. I try to devote my full attention to the T.V. and not Kyle's conversation with Taylor. Aunt Leah watches me curiously.

"It's not New Year's yet, silly!" Kyle continues, oblivious to my discomfort. "Okay, maybe it is in Colorado, but back home we've still got a minute and a half."

For the past two weeks, Taylor and her family have been skiing in Colorado. I have not talked to her in two weeks. I've been trying desperately not to think about her, but it's killing me inside. Thankfully, she'll be home tomorrow, and school starts the day after.

Then what?

That still doesn't change the fact that she is dating my best friend. Even if Aunt Leah is right, and I do have a chance with Taylor, will I hurt Kyle in the process? That's the last thing I want.

"No, I'm at Brian's. They have a party every year." Kyle looks at me. "Taylor says hi."

The fire grows inside me, and I find myself smiling much wider than the situation warrants. "Hi Taylor!"

"He says hi, too," Kyle relays. It bugs me that he said that without any inflection. Taylor should know I was excited to say hello to her. Shut up, Brian, she's not your girlfriend.

But she is my soul mate. Maybe. Probably. I think.

"Ten seconds!" Dad calls excitedly. "Alex, you want juice?"

The bedroom troll creeps into the room for the first time all night. Mom glances from me to my brother.

"No," Alex snaps.

Meanwhile, everyone else calls, "Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!"

Confetti and screams fill the air as people hug and kiss and ring in the New Year. I can't help thinking about this time last year. Everything was so much different. Will it be even more different come next New Year's?

Maybe my brother will stop being a jerk. Maybe we'll get rid of that stupid bloodsucker. Maybe I'll have someone to kiss next year.

Or maybe fate will decide to be cruel again. I drink my juice box and brace myself for the worst.


	2. Never Explain

**Never explain. Your friends do not need it, and your enemies will not believe it anyway. -Eric Hoffer**

I knew it would be rough coming back after break with Kyle in my pack, but I see now that I completely under estimated the wrath of high-schoolers. All day I get dirty looks and death glares just for walking down the hall. It's amazing how fast news can fly through the high school rumor mill. By lunch, the entire school knows that the most popular kid in the tenth grade (and debatably the school) is now part of crazy Brian Clearwater's gang.

If anyone didn't know, they know as soon as Kyle sits at my table. It's as if the world stops spinning. A collective gasp crosses the cafeteria as the unthinkable happens. The rumors are true. Not only has Brian Clearwater brainwashed his estranged cousin and one of the most popular sophomores, now he's taken the King of Tenth Grade.

"You'd think people had better things to do with their lives than gossip about us, wouldn't you?" John comments.

"Don't flatter yourself," Ben replies, "They're gossiping about Brian and Kyle."

I should be used to this by now, but that doesn't stop my irritated internal monologue from turning into a "Poor Brian" soap opera. I'm glad the guys can't hear my thoughts right now. They'd just tell me to get a grip. Then again, maybe I need that.

Meanwhile, Kyle sits beside me and plays with his bottle cap. He didn't even bother to grab a lunch. The poor kid is too upset to eat. I'm sure it's hard to go from having dozens of friends to having three. Well, I can't say from experience, but I'm sure it is.

I'm about to be a good Alpha and offer Kyle some words of encouragement when a rude voice interjects from above my head.

"What the hell, Kyle?!" he growls. I look up and see Chris Watkins, one of Kyle's old friends, standing behind Kyle's chair.

Kyle doesn't turn around. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and says, "What do you mean? You know Brian's my friend."

"Save it, Kyle," Chris snaps. "I know he's been your charity case for years, but that doesn't mean you can ditch us for his freakin' drug gang."

Kyle shuts his eyes tighter and holds his breath. Chris was one of the kids who used to bully me before I was friends with Kyle, but (as much as I would love to see him torn to bits by an angry wolf) I decide to do the right thing here.

"Chris, if you have a problem with me, you can yell at me, you know."

His angry eyes flash to me. "Don't worry, Clearwater, you're next."

"If you want to mess with my friends, you have to go through me first," I say calmly.

Chris almost falls over laughing. "You? I could take you with one hand behind my back!"

I seriously doubt that, but don't say anything.

He interprets that as me asking for a fight. "You wanna go, Clearwater?"  
"I want you to go back to your seat," I say, trying to use as much Alpha as I can. If Chris has even an ounce of wolf blood, it should send him running back to his seat.

I guess he doesn't, because he ignores me and turns back to Kyle. "Is this why you avoided us all break? You were too busy getting drugged up?"

Kyle starts shaking. I hiss his name under my breath, but am otherwise at a loss of what to do. John and Ben look at me nervously. All I can think is that we're screwed.

"Is there a problem over here?" a familiar voice snaps. I look up to see Taylor giving Chris the look she used to give me in third grade. The I-hate-you-more-than-I-hate-getting-stabbed-in-the-eyeball look.

"Did you see your boyfriend joined Clearwater's freakin' drug gang?" Chris snarls.

"Yes, I did. I have eyes, you know." The venom in her voice should be enough to kill Chris on the spot.

"And you don't care that he's freakin' lost his mind?" Chris sneers.

Taylor puts her hands on Kyle's tensed shoulders and says, "I wouldn't say that. I'd say he's finally in the know."

Though his eyes are still closed, Kyle snorts and cracks a smile.

"Now get the hell away from my friends," Taylor orders.

Chris shakes his head. "I should have known that a little bitch like you-"

Before Chris can finish his sentence, I am on my feet. The cafeteria becomes silent as I force Chris around to face me. I'm a good six inches taller than him, and use that to make myself look as threatening as possible.

"Listen to me carefully, Chris, because I'm not going to say this again," I whisper slowly and deliberately. "If you ever call her that again, I will personally break every bone in your body. You mess with my friends, you mess with me." I lean closer and growl, "And you don't want to mess with me."

Maybe Chris does have some wolf blood, or maybe my Alpha wolf act can work on anyone, because Chris shrinks back and says, "Whatever, Clearwater," with as much bravado as he can and slinks back to his table.

As soon as he is gone, I sit down and see four sets of eyes gaping at me.

"I thought you were going to murder him," Ben gasps.

"Chris nearly wet himself," John smirks.

"You didn't have to do that," Taylor mumbles, but appreciation leaks out of her eyes.

I shrug. "No one messes with my friends," I say. "I don't have a lot, so I have to make sure I take care of them."

Everyone laughs. "I should have ditched them for you a long time ago, Brian," Kyle says.

"Thanks, Kyle," Ben teases.

"Well, I liked you, Ben, but that was about it," he amends

"Same," Ben agrees. "Chris really was the worst, though."

"Agreed."

I turn to Taylor and ask, "Want to sit with us?"

She smiles carefully. "I'm going to see if my friends hate me too, now, but then I'll be back."

She leaves, but turns back after a few feet and gives me a smile. Maybe I should go all Alpha at school more often…


	3. Unrestrained Anger

**Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful than the injury that provokes it. -Seneca**

Over the next month the Kyle situation becomes progressively better. By groundhog day I only get death threats every other day, and the glares have turned into menacing scowls of hatred rather than true death glares. At least it's kind of an improvement.

I can take it, and surprisingly, so can Kyle. I thought he'd resent me or something, but instead he's taken the whole thing in stride. He admitted to me the other day while we were running that he never really liked being popular. On the inside, he's an introvert like me. I guess that's why we're such good friends.

It's my night off, and by some miracle of miracles I have no homework. I haven't slept in two days, so I really need tonight. My plan is to grab a snack, catch up on some TV, then go straight to bed after dinner. The whole idea sounds heavenly.

Alex beats me to the pantry, and when I get there all we have is canned cream of chicken soup and breadcrumbs. "What happened to all the food?" I moan.

Elbow deep in a bag of chips, Alex grunts, "I don't know," and proceeds to shove a huge handful into his mouth.

"Did you just eat that whole bag?" I gasp as he crumbles the now empty bag into a ball.

"Yeah, so? You do it all the time," he snaps.

Yeah, but you're not a werewolf. "Is that all we had?" I ask. Looks like I'm having breadcrumbs and soup. Yum.

"There were some cookies," he says.

"Were? You ate those too?!"

Alex shrugs. "I'm hungry. Maybe I'm going through my growth spurt."

He can't be. He's not old enough! Unless it really is just a normal growth spurt. I take a closer look at my brother. He's definitely taller, and his short-sleeved shirt (even though it's twenty degrees outside) exposes arm muscles that were not there a week ago.

My phone rings. I pull it out of my pocket and see Kyle's name. It's already dark, and he and Ben are out running. Why is he calling? Crap.

"What's up?" I ask in a voice of barely-controlled calm.

Kyle loses no time in saying, "Ben found a trail. It's pretty faint, so it's probably been there for a while, but Ben says it's not the same vampire. What do you want us to do?"

"What do you mean it's not the same? And if it's been there a while, how come we haven't noticed it before?" I swear we haven't found anything since that night I followed our friend to Forks, and now our friend has a friend? How could we miss this?

"It's not on the immediate path, Ben went a little further in because he thought he heard something. It turned out to just be a stray cat, but that's where he found the trail. Should we follow it?"

"No, I'll be there in a minute." So much for a night off. I hang up my phone and look at Alex.

"Tell Mom I might be late to dinner," I say, already halfway towards the door.

"What are you doing? What's wrong?" he demands.

"Don't worry about it," I say. Since when does he care what I do?

I stomp back home an hour later in poor spirits. The trail was too old to bother with, but I still ran a tighter perimeter for a while, just in case there was a fresher trail. Nothing. I told Ben and Kyle to run the tighter perimeter tonight, though. Just in case.

Maybe I missed a snack and TV, but at least I can have dinner and then go to bed. I walk in on my family finishing their spaghetti. "Hey, I'm back."

"Everything okay?" Dad asks casually.

"Yeah, nothing exciting," I grumble. I help myself to a huge plate and sit down.

"What did you do?" Alex asks again.

"Why do you care?" I snap back.

"Boys, be nice," Mom scolds.

I shut up and eat my dinner, but of course Alex can't do that. "He never tells me anything!" he snaps.

"It's none of your business," I snap back. I can feel myself getting angry. I guess this is what I get for going two nights without sleep.

"Can I be 'scused?" Molly asks.

"Brian just got here, honey," Mom says.

Alex grumbles under his breath. "Brian just got here. It's always about Brian."

I take a deep breath and try not to let Alex bother me. Dad notices, and says, "Go ahead, Molly."

I slurp down the rest of my spaghetti and say, "I'll done too. I really need to get some sleep or I'm going to flip on someone." I try to laugh on the last part, but I know my parents see right through that.

"Okay, good night, honey!" Mom says.

Alex swears under his breath and has this awful look on his face, like he wants to murder me. I shrug it off and head towards my room. I immediately jump into bed and try to ignore the muffled voices coming from the kitchen. I'm about two seconds away from sleep when I hear my Mom shriek, "Brian!"

Swearing into my pillow, I push myself out of bed and go back out of my room and towards the kitchen. There I am faced with a sandy-colored werewolf.

I say a few words I've never said before. It doesn't matter that my mother is in the room. I am furious.

"Brian!" Mom gasps, but I'm too upset to care. I can already feel myself shaking.

"Are you freakin' kidding me, Alex?" I shout, at least taking care to use the other f-word this time. "This was my night off!"

Alex doesn't act like he hears me at all. He's freaking out, probably because he can hear Ben and Kyle and doesn't know what the heck is going on. I try as hard as I can to take pity on my little brother. I take a deep breath and say to Dad, "Help him get outside." Then, taking my shirt off as I go, I run outside myself.


	4. An Enlarged Future

**Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. -Paul Boese**

I explain everything to Alex in a clearing not too far from the house. Meanwhile, Ben and Kyle continue to run the perimeter, occasionally chiming in with any information I forget in my sleep-deprived haze.

Alex doesn't react. He somehow blocks me out, and I can't even tell what he's thinking. That shouldn't surprise me, the kid is great at shutting people out. He just sits there and absorbs everything. Like a sponge. I'm really tired.

_Brian, you can go home. Ben and I will stay with Alex, _Kyle offers.

I appreciate the offer, but still say, _Thanks, but I stayed for the rest of you. I'm fine._

Maybe I'll stay home tomorrow and sleep. Crap, we have that lab in Chem and I can't leave Taylor.

_Hello? I thought you were telling me about these Volturi people?_ Alex says, speaking for the first time.

I finish explaining everything to the sponge, and finally pause to say, _There it is. Any questions?_

_ Just one, _he says. _No, wait. Two._

Two? I had about a million, but whatever. _What? _I ask.

_So it's not a drug gang?_

He seriously thought I was a drug dealer. That actually hurts.

_Aw, I hurt wittle Brian's fweelings, _he says in a mock-baby voice. _It certainly explained how you finally have friends. Though becoming a mythical creature is another logical explanation._

Again, I'm hurt. Unfortunately, I can't block Alex out the way he's doing with me, so he gets to see how hurt I am. Fantastic.

_What's your other question? _ I ask, hoping it won't make me want to break something.

_How come you get to be the Alpha wolf?_ He asks.

Huh. It's a serious question, but one I didn't expect. I'd have thought he'd ask why the Volturi want us to be guard dogs or how they plan to do that. I wonder about that all the time. Or maybe he'd be wondering about our little friend that burnt down Newton's. Or maybe he'd be wondering why he phased when we haven't seen the bloodsucker in months, not counting today's old trail.

_I really don't care about any of that, to be honest, _he snaps. _Plus it makes sense that I phased. _

Huh. It's no surprise that he doesn't care about anything, but what does he mean it makes sense?

_Maybe because there's a whole family of vampires living down the street?_ Alex suggests as rudely as he can.

Oh. I sort of forgot about that.

_Aw, Brian has more mythical creature friends! _He says, making fun of me again. _How nice!_

I remind myself I don't want to hurt Alex (or do I?) and answer his original question.

_Being Alpha is a lineage thing,_ I explain. _The last Alpha was Uncle Jake, but since he left La Push for so long it went to his sisters._

_How come it's not John, then?_ Alex asks.

_Because of Dad, _I say. _He had a better claim than Uncle Paul._

_But why is you and not me?_ Alex says shortly.

_I guess because I'm older,_ I say.

Alex is still blocking me out, so I have no idea what he's thinking. Then, without warning, he attacks me.

The guys and I usually spar with each other a few times a week, just to be ready if we get into a bloodsucker brawl. But this is different. I've never tried to actually hurt any of them.

I try to hurt Alex. I want Alex to hurt as much as he's hurt me. Somewhere in the back of my head I hear Ben and Kyle yelling for us to stop, but we ignore them.

This has to be the worst fight in the history of brother fights, because it is both a physical and mental battle. With every bite or scratch comes a memory of Mom, Molly, Dad; I want Alex to know how much he's hurt them.

But in watching my own memories, I realize it's me that's been hurt the most. I thought I was being selfless as I hated Alex for hurting Mom, but the truth is, it has always been about me. It's about Alex liking John more than me. It's about Alex having more friends than me, and wasting that gift to be locked in his room. It's about Alex giving up the chance to play basketball with Dad, something my human motor skills never allowed. It's about Molly liking Alex more than me. It's about Mom giving Alex my hot chocolate so that he wouldn't be angry.

The more I hurt Alex, the more I break down his defenses, and soon his memories are tumbling out as well. Mom hanging up one of my fourth grade spelling tests on the refrigerator. Dad bragging about me to his friends. Molly telling him to play the games I taught her. Teachers saying, "Oh. You're Brian's brother," in disappointed voices. Mom asking why he can't be more like me.

That's when I finally realize what Alex's problem is.

I push him on his back, and before he can throw me off, I order, _Stop, _in my Alpha voice. Alex freezes under me.

_What the hell? _He gasps.

_Perks of being Alpha,_ I say. Alex comments on that using the same choice words I used in the kitchen.

I get off of him and say, _ You can get up when you want,_ as kindly as I can.

I sit beside him as, true to form, he takes his good, sweet time standing up. It gives me a chance to do a quick internal check. My one leg kills, but I don't think it's broken because I can put weight on it. I have about a dozen bruises in the making, and probably a few decent scars too.

_I got you good, didn't I?_ Alex brags. But he's in pain too. His back leg is nearly on fire, it hurts so bad. He's bleeding on his side and probably has about as many bruises as I do.

Knowing we'll both be healed in an hour or so, I turn my attention to the real issue at hand. _Is that really the problem, Alex?_ I know the answer, but can't believe it.

_No,_ he lies. His defenses are completely down, so I know I'm right. Knowing that, Alex comes clean.

_Fine, okay, you're right. Happy? _ He snaps.

_Not really,_ I admit. _You've been shutting everyone out because of me?_

_ Well when you say it like that, it sounds really bad,_ he grumbles. _But kinda._

_ Alex-_

_ Look, Brian, _he says. _For my entire life everyone has compared me to you. Is it wrong to be jealous of my perfect brother? You're nice, smart, everyone likes you-_

I laugh morbidly. _In what world does everyone like me? You're the one who thought I drugged people to get friends!_

_ Adults like you,_ he clarifies. _And who cares what kids think-_

_ I do,_ I admit. It would be nice if I wasn't the most hated kid in school.

_It's high school,_ Alex continues,_ no one will even remember this in ten years. In the real world, people are going to like you._

Wow. He really thinks that?

_Yes, I do! _ Alex insists. _And meanwhile, all my teachers and even Mom and Dad wish I was you!_

_ So you pushed everyone away? Why?_

_ I don't know,_ he admits. _ I didn't want anyone comparing me to you. I didn't realize I was hurting everyone._

I don't really know what to say, because it's the truth. But what hurt everyone the most is that we miss the old Alex. The nice Alex who used to help Mom make dinner and ask me for help with homework and play with Molly.

_Really? _ Alex asks. _I didn't think anyone cared about that Alex._

_ I was really jealous of him, _I admit.

_Yeah, right,_ he grumbles.

_Alex, I can't lie to you, _I remind him. _Honestly, I wanted to be you so bad! You had tons of friends, everyone liked you, Dad always played basketball with you, you were Mom's favorite, Molly liked you more-_

_ I guess I was pretty cool,_ he agrees.

_Then maybe you should go back to that,_ I suggest.

_Maybe_.

_Aw, well isn't this like a Hallmark movie! _Kyle says. Honestly I forgot he and Ben were there.

_Caught up in the moment, huh? _Kyle teases.

_Shut up, Kyle! _ Alex and I think at the same time.

_Hey, how does that Alpha command thing work again?_ Alex asks, thinking of a few things we could do to get back at Kyle.

_Aw, come on, guys I was just kidding! _Kyle swears.

_Just remember, I didn't make fun of you at all, _Ben insists. _I'd never call you guys a Hallmark movie._

_ Maybe we should do something to Ben, just to bug him, _I joke.

_You better be joking,_ Ben says nervously.

_He is, _Alex promises. _Or is he?_

For the rest of the night, the four of us joke around. It's weird being able to interact with Alex like we used to. He quickly reverts back to the fun-loving brother I used to know, and I can't complain. Hallmark movie or not, I'm thrilled to have my brother back.

The weak morning sun peeks over the treetops, and Ben and Kyle phase back so they can go to school.

_That doesn't seem too hard,_ Alex observes. He then tries to phase with no success.

_Just relax,_ I say. _Let your mind go blank-_

He's human before I finish. Impressive. I phase back too, and tell him that verbally. "I think you're the fastest to phase back yet! Not counting me, of course."

Alex doesn't seem to hear me and deliberately avoids looking at me. I don't have to hear his thoughts to know what he's thinking; his face is enough.

"Yeah, I know. It's weird," I say, pulling my pants on.

"Little bit," he grumbles. "What am I supposed to do?"

"I keep an extra pair of sweatpants in that bush over there." Alex quickly grabs the snow-covered pants and puts them on.

As he does, I take a look at my remaining bruises from our fight last night. They should be gone within the hour, but I have a few scars that look like they might linger for the rest of the day.

"Shit, they're cold!" Alex cries, jumping around in his frozen pants.

"It's that or go streaking," I remind him.

"Do you think the neighbors would mind?" he jokes.

I laugh. "You might give Ms. Call a heart attack!"

He shrugs, then together we walk out of the forest and into our backyard. I notice he doesn't have as many scars and bruises as I do, but he does have a large, mostly healed gash in his side.

"Does that hurt?" I ask as we cross the backyard to the door.

Pulling open the door, he shrugs. "Not really."

"Well hello there!" Dad says cheerfully, looking up from his breakfast. "Everything go okay?"

"Yeah," I yawn. I'm now going on three nights without sleep. Chem is going to be torture. At least it's Friday, so I can sleep in tomorrow…

"You boys must be hungry," Mom says. She says that every morning after I run. Mom loves handing me a plate full of bacon, eggs, and waffles, and I love it too. Alex sits down immediately and digs in. Meanwhile, I grab a mug and pour myself some coffee.

"I thought you didn't like coffee," Mom says curiously.

I take a sip and wince at the bitter taste. "I don't, but I can barely keep my eyes open."

"Maybe you should stay home today, honey," she suggests, pouring some cream into my coffee. That kind of helps the taste.

"I can't. I have a Chem lab," I yawn.

"You have to sleep sometimes, Brian," Dad reminds me.

"But I can't ditch Taylor on a lab day," I insist.

Dad smirks and nods. "I understand. Good thing I wasn't the smart one."

"How many times did I have to teach you everything the day before a test?" Mom laughs.

"Far too many. Especially since you actually made me study!" Dad laughs accusingly.

"Well one of us needed to be responsible." Mom whacks him jokingly with a copy of the newspaper.

After sharing a smile with his high school sweetheart, Dad turns to Alex and me. "Funny story, boys. The neighbors almost called animal control last night."

"Why?" Alex asks.

"Apparently it sounded like some wild animals were attacking something," he says casually. "Or each other?" He stares pointedly at Alex's side and my scars.

Alex and I exchange smirks.

"Yeah, I beat up Brian. You know how it is." Alex shrugs.

I snort. "Please. Have you looked at your side? I kicked your butt!"

"I was just tiring you out," he insists. "I would have won if you hadn't cheated!"

"Probably," I admit.

Mom bites her lip, but doesn't say anything.

"Mom, we would never really hurt each other," I insists.

Alex coughs, "Liar."

I shoot him a glare, and he looks down at his eggs, smirking.

"They didn't call, right?" I ask Dad. He shakes his head.

Alex looks up. "Do I really get to miss school?" he asks eagerly.

Dad nods. "Just until Brian thinks you can handle yourself."

Alex cocks his head thoughtfully. "You know, that could take me a while. I do have an attitude problem."

"You have one week and if you hurt anyone, I'll kill you." My threat is ruined by another yawn.

Alex groans. "Then I guess I should sleep while I can." He stands up, takes his dish to the sink, and heads for his room. But before he leaves the kitchen, he says, "Thanks for breakfast, Mom!"

She stares at him, flabbergasted. "You're welcome, honey."

As soon as his bedroom door clicks shut she looks at with an accusatory glare. "Okay, what did you do to him?" she demands.

"Nothing!" I promise. "Well, I gave him that scar, but otherwise nothing. We just talked."

"Some conversation," she marvels.

"It really was." I look at the clock. "Shoot, I have to go or I'll be late."

"You wouldn't want to miss Chem," Dad teases.

"Absolutely not," I say, rushing to my room for a shirt and shoes.


	5. Pain

**Pain of the mind is worse than main of the body. -Publilius Syrus**

I walk into Chem with a Red Bull I got out of the cafeteria vending machine. Suddenly, I feel very, very awake. I don't think I'll ever sleep again!

In stark contrast to my newfound pep, Ben has his head on his desk as he fights sleep.

"Hi Ben what's up?" I say in one breath.

He looks up slowly. "Someone's awake."

"I had a few sips of this Red Bull this stuff is great!"

He grins. "You're going to crash hard in about twenty minutes."

"Nope I'm awake I don't think I'll ever sleep again maybe I'll run again tonight because I'm really full of energy!"

Someone laughs behind me. I turn around to see Taylor's smiling face. "Red Bull?"

"It's the best have you ever had it I love it?!"

She laughs again as the bell rings. Together we take our seats at our table

As Mrs. Garret enters with her usual coffee, Taylor leans in and whispers, "Do you think you'll be able to do the lab today? Or is that Red Bull making you too crazy?" She grins at my twitching fingers.

"I can do the lab that's the only reason I came today because I wanted to make sure I could help you with the lab so I drank Red Bull."

It takes her a second to figure out what I said, but then she whispers back in awe, "You came to school just to help me with the lab?"

"I haven't slept in three days but I wanted to see you!" Shoot. I didn't mean to say that. Stupid Red Bull. "Help you do the lab," I correct a second too late.

Taylor just stares at me with a half-smile on her face. "Wow," she gasps. "Really?"

"Of course," I say, abruptly aware of how little space is between our faces. The Red Bull drags back the memory of our kiss, and tries to get me to go in for another one.

Fortunately, Mrs. Garret announces, "Okay! Go ahead and get started!" Taylor and I lean away from each other, then get up and grab our lab materials.

The lab is fairly difficult, partly because we missed the explanation, but mostly because the Red Bull wears off (just as Ben predicted) twenty minutes into the period. I accidently burn myself twice on the Bunsen burner, and nearly drop the crucible. Maybe Taylor would have been better off without me today.

But she never complains. At the end of the second period we are finished with the lab and are now working on the calculations. Well, Taylor is. Typically, I do the experiment and she tackles the lab report. It works out pretty well.

I have my eyes half-open as I pretend watch her plug our numbers into her calculator. But really I'm remembering how her face looked when I told her I came to school just to see her.

"Brian?" she asks, jerking me out of dreamland.

"Yeah?"

She takes a deep breath. "If I tell you something, will you promise to keep it a secret?"

"Of course," I say quickly. Then I catch myself and add, "Well, I can promise to keep it from everyone but the guys."

"Oh yeah," she mumbles. "That's... well… can you keep it just for today, then?"

I'm definitely not running tonight. "Sure. What's up?"

She bites her lip, then gives a nearly inaudible reply, even for me. Still, I manage to catch her say, "I think I'm going to break up with Kyle."

I can't breathe. I can't think. She's dumping Kyle. The best friend in me feels terrible, and wants to talk her out of me. The teenage boy in me is doing a touchdown dance and already picturing a first date with Taylor. The imprinted werewolf in me wants to know why she is no longer happy, and wants to make her happy as soon as possible.

The imprinted werewolf in me is loudest, so I say, "Are you okay?"

She shrugs. "I love him to death, but more and more I'm thinking I just want to be friends."

The best friend in me shakes his head. Just friends? Kyle is not going to be happy. But the teenage boy in me certainly is. Maybe I'll get my kiss after all…

Taylor continues, "I want him in my life, but I just don't think I want a boyfriend at all right now."

The teenage boy in me stops dancing, and swears a little bit. Fortunately, the imprinted werewolf has control of my mouth. "I'm really glad you can tell me this," I say. "But why are you telling me this?"

"Well," she twists a bit of her hair around her finger. "I'm a little afraid to do it." She drops her hair. "I'm afraid he'll be mad."

Taylor looks at me with fear in her eyes. The Alpha wolf in me realizes that someone needs to make sure Kyle stays in control of himself for this conversation. I don't want Taylor to get hurt.

I'm really not sure what to say. "That's very possible."

"Brian," she says carefully. "I hate to ask you this, but is there any way you could be there when I do it? I would feel much better."

Well this sucks. The best friend in me feels that he, too, would get mad at Taylor for breaking Kyle's heart, and subsequently phase himself. The teenage boy in me might try to flirt with Taylor in front of Kyle, completely disregarding his feelings. The Alpha wolf in me doesn't want to see any fur flying tonight.

Maybe I could have John handle this for me. Then nothing would be awkward for me or Kyle, and Taylor would still be safe. I have complete confidence in John.

But the imprinted werewolf in me wants to be there to make sure she is okay. And as she looks at me, it's almost like she really wants me to be there, not one of the others. After all, she could have just as easily asked one of them for a favor. They would have all said yes.

"Of course," I smile.

She sighs, relieved. "Thank you."

"When were you thinking of doing it?" I ask.

"Tonight."

Our plan is relatively simple. At lunch, I ask Kyle and John if they want to do something tonight. They both agree, with the stipulation that I take a nap before heading over to Kyle's house after dinner. I gratefully agree.

Meanwhile, Ben and Alex will be running the boarder. It's helpful that it worked out that way. I don't think Ben heard Taylor and me talking in Chem (his lab partner actually did drop the crucible, and Ben was forced to mass the shards while mumbling obscenities under his breath), but I would rather not take the chance of him confessing something.

So at about seven o'clock the three of us are watching a movie and scarfing down all the food in the Uley's house. Sam and Emily are out, so there is no one to stop us from eating everything. It's great!

"I saw this movie with Taylor once," Kyle says through a mouthful of pizza. "She didn't like it." Speaking of things she doesn't like…

I keep glancing nervously at my phone, waiting for Taylor to text me that she's here. Kyle doesn't notice. Unlike Taylor, he really likes this movie. I think John notices me, though, because he keeps frowning in my direction. Still, he never says anything.

My phone vibrates. I glance at a text from Taylor. She's here.

A second later the doorbell rings. Kyle pauses the movie. "Be right back," he says.

I listen carefully as he opens the door. "Hey, Taylor! Come in!"

"Hi, Kyle," she says sweetly.

"Were we supposed to go out tonight?" he asks, confused.

"No, I just came over because- because I wanted to tell you something," she sounds nervous, but determined.

John pokes my shoulder. I turn around to see him mouth, "Did you know she was coming over?"

I shrug and ignore him, instead listening more carefully to Taylor and Kyle.

"Look, Kyle, I've been thinking," she starts. "I really care about you, and I love having you in my life, but I think it would be better if we were just friends."

There is a pause. I prepare myself to jump up and run to the rescue if need be. But Kyle seems in control of himself as he asks, "Is it because of Brian?"

"No, honestly," she insists. I will admit that hurts. A lot. "I just have a lot going on in my life, and I don't think I want a boyfriend at all right now."

There is another pause, followed by a sigh. "Okay," Kyle says. "Yeah, that's- that's cool."

"I'm really sorry, Kyle," she says.

"Yeah, me too."

"We can still be friends?"

"Of course," he promises.

There another pause, which Kyle breaks. "So, can we hug?"

She laughs. "Of course!"

I assume they hug, then I hear the door open. "Thanks for understanding, Kyle," she says.

"No, yeah, thanks for telling me this to my face. I appreciate that," he says.

"You're welcome. Bye!" she calls.

"Bye." The door closes.

It's almost a minute later that Kyle comes back into the living room. He leans against the wall and stares at his feet. Finally he looks up at me. "Did you know about this?" he asks.

I decide it would be pointless to lie. "She told me this morning. She was afraid that you'd be mad."

"So she asked you to be there?" he surmises.

I shrug. "Kinda."

He nods grimly. "Smart girl." He looks back at me. "Did she tell you anything else?"

"She told me everything she told you," I assure him.

"So this isn't about you?" he stares at me inquisitively.

I shrug. "Apparently not."

He's quiet for a second, then lets out a morbid laugh. "Well that's bullshit. If she dumped me for you, I could at least understand that!"

"Calm down, Kyle," I say carefully.

"I'm not mad, I'm confused!" he insists. "She 'has a lot going on right now and doesn't want a boyfriend.' What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know," I admit.

"I do," John pipes up.

"What?" Kyle snaps.

"Chicks be crazy," he says confidently.

Kyle and I exchange glances.

"I thought it was 'bitches be crazy'," Kyle groans.

"Yeah, but I thought Brian would kill me if I said that about Taylor," John shrugs.

I smirk. He's not wrong.

Kyle rolls his eyes and laughs a little. "It's just-"

Suddenly there is a loud cry, like an animal in pain. All three of us immediately turn towards the window. We hear it again.

I'm out the door before Kyle can finish saying, "What the hell?" He and John follow behind me as we all run into the forest. I phase without taking off my clothes, and keep running as the ruined cloth flies off me.

Alex is on the ground being attacked by a young-looking female vampire with short brown hair. By the smell of her, she's the one that left the trail Ben found yesterday. She's tiny, but is certainly capable of serious damage. Alex is already in way worse shape than he was after our fight yesterday. Before she can do anything else to Alex, Ben reaches her and takes over. But he can't take her on his own. She knows how to fight.

_We're coming, Ben, don't worry!_ I say, running faster.

When we're just a little bit away, she throws Ben off of her and does something strange. She smiles at him. He has about a quarter of a second to wonder what she's doing before he is on the ground, writhing in pain.

The rest of us can feel his pain, of course, and but it doesn't affect us like it does him. We finally reach Alex, Ben, and the bloodsucker, and I leap on top of her.

This breaks her concentration and frees Ben from whatever she was doing to him. While he and Alex lay panting on the ground, John, Kyle, and I take her down. About two seconds into the fight, it's clear that we've got her. I start to think that this is almost too easy when she turns and smiles at me.

I feel like I'm being stabbed, run over by a truck, my blood is burning, my bones are breaking, I can't think, I can't do anything but howl like a dying wolf. I wish I would just die, then I would stop hurting.

Finally it does stop, and I lay panting on the ground. I look around to see that not only am I on the ground, but so is the rest of my pack. How did we all feel that at once? Can she do that to more than one person at a time?  
The tiny leech grins at me and says, "So you must be the Alpha wolf. Interesting."

With that, she smiles at me again, and I'm writhing in pain along with my pack. At least this time is short. When I open my eyes, I see her laugh and run away.

Needless to say, no one even thinks of following her.


	6. Sharing Pain

**Leaders don't inflict pain, they share pain. -Max Depree**

We're at the Cullen's in thirty minutes. We could have gotten here sooner, but Alex couldn't run as a wolf. It took us almost five minutes just to get him to phase back, because he was in so much pain. Meanwhile Ben got us all pants and we met at my house. Then I had to drive here because I'm the only one with a driver's license. It was a mess.

As soon as we walk in Edward immediately asks, "Is Alex the only one hurt?"

"Yeah," I say. I know Carlisle is a doctor, so I turn to him and ask, "Can you help him?"

He sits Alex down a their kitchen table and starts examining the damage. "What happened?" he asks.

John launches into report mode. "Alex and Ben were on patrol when a tiny female vampire attacked Alex-"

"Don't say it like that!" Alex snaps. "You make it sound like I got beat up by a little girl!"

"Sorry," John says rolling his eyes. "Alex was attacked by this vicious, evil creature that just barely beat him."

"Better," Alex concedes. He winces at Carlisle's icy touch.

John continues the story as Carlisle turns to me. "He has a great deal of minor injuries, but those will heal on their own. What's causing the majority of his pain is his arm."

"Is it broken?" If it is, it should heal quickly. But it's twisted at a weird angle, and Alex seems to be having trouble moving it.

"Yes, and it has already begun to heal," Carlisle replies.

"That's good, right?" Alex is breathing carefully and has his teeth clenched. I really hate to see him in so much pain.

"Normally, yes," Carlisle continues. "However, the bones are healing in the wrong position."

That isn't good. "So what do we do?" I ask.

"The bones will have to be re-broken and then set properly."

Alex stares at Carlisle. "Or?" he demands

"Or your arm will heal incorrectly," Carlisle replies calmly. He turns to me. "I can do it for you now."

"Um, excuse me," Alex growls. "It's my arm!"

"Yes but I'm responsible for what happens to my pack," I say simply.

Alex glares at me. "What if I don't want my arm to be fixed?"

"You want to be a crippled wolf?" I ask, amused.

"Maybe," he snaps. "I'm sorry if I don't like the idea of another vampire breaking my arm again tonight."

Oh. He does have a point there.

Carlisle, however, is not the least bit offended. "I can give you painkillers, of course. Between treating your father and Jacob I figured out a proper dosage for werewolves." He smiles reassuringly.

Alex relaxes a little bit. "Just break it, Doc," he grumbles.

"Are you sure?" I say.

"Hey, I felt it once," he shrugs.

"Let me get a brace," Carlisle says. He is back in less than five seconds.

I for one do not want to hear this, so I tune back into John's report.

"And then we came here," he finishes. The entire Cullen clan is silent.

"Well?" I ask, mildly annoyed. "Do you have anything for us?"

Edward finally answers. "There is good news and bad news."

Well, I guess it can't get worse. "Bad news first," I say.

"The vampire you met is part of the Volturi," he says.

Alex breaks the subsequent silence by shouting his favorite curse word as Carlisle breaks his arm.

"My thoughts exactly," Ben agrees.

"What's the good news?" I ask while looking at Alex. He's trying very hard to seem strong, but the poor kid should have opted for the painkillers.

Edward answers, "She's part of the Volturi."

"How is that good news?" Kyle demands.

"At least we know what we're up against," John says.

"Do we?" Ben questions. "How did she hurt us like that?"

"And how come it affected us all when she did it to Brian?" Kyle asks.

"And how exactly are they planning on making us be guard dogs?" Alex asks. Funny, I thought he wasn't interested in that. I guess getting attacked by a bloodsucker can really change a person.

I look at each of the Cullens in turn. "Anything?" They know more than we do. I don't like that, and I need to know what they do.

Edward nods at me. "You're right. You do need to know what we know."

"Well, we're listening," I say.

Edward starts. "Her name is Jane, the vampire you met tonight."

I think "met" implies a formal introduction and lack of physical assault, but I let it go and listen.

"Like many of the Volturi, she has a special ability," he continues.

"Like many of you," I remind him.

"Yes," he agrees. "Jane has the ability to cause her victims to feel horrible pain."

"Horrible is putting it lightly," Ben grumbles.

Edward nods knowingly. "It's not enjoyable," he agrees.

"Can she hurt more than one person at once?" John asks.

Edward shakes his head. "No."

"Then how did she attack all of us?" I ask.

Bella answers this question. "Jane's power works the same way Edward's, Renesmee's, and mine do. They deal with the mind rather than the body."

"So you're saying that pain was all in our heads?" Kyle gasps.

"It felt pretty real to me," Ben mumbles.

"You can feel pain, but your body isn't actually being hurt," Bella explains.

"But how did she attack all of us?" I repeat.

"When you're in wolf form, your minds are linked together," she continues. "And the pack mind is centered on the Alpha's mind."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Basically, if you're all wolves and I use my shield to protect your mind, I protect all your minds," she tells me.

"So if Jane attacks Brian, she attacks all of us?" Kyle asks.

Bella nods. "So that's how she figured out that Brian is the Alpha."

"Why is that important?" I wonder aloud.

Jasper takes this one. "From a strategic standpoint, there are two things Jane needs to do before recruiting the five of you. One is to identify the Alpha."

"And the other?" I ask.

"Build up the pack," he replies. "Which is exactly what she and her friend have been doing. They run around, triggering the formation of a wolf pack, but remain far enough removed that you can't stop them.

"Except of course when they want you to find them, just to keep you interested," Jake adds.

"Yeah, well, they had help with building the pack up," Alex points out.

"But they didn't know that," Jake says, shrugging.

"You're still not answering the big question," I remind them. "How exactly are they planning to make us guard dogs?"

The Cullens simultaneously turn to Carlisle, who just finished setting Alex's arm. "I have a theory," he admits.

"Well that's more than we've got," I say. "Let's hear it."

He cleans up his doctor's bag and says, "Of the gifted members of the Volturi, there is one member who could force you to join them."

I try to swallow my fear, keeping in mind there is a mind reader and mood reader in the room. "Okay."

"Her name is Chelsea," Carlisle continues. "She has the ability to create and break relationships."

I don't have to read minds to know that not one member of my pack understands what he means by that. Luckily, neither does Carlisle.

"The Volturi typically use her gift to maintain a strong bond in their ranks and to destroy ties within a threatening coven," he explains. "She's tried to break up our family."

"Tried?" Kyle asks hopefully.

"Bella prevented that, but I'm not sure it would work anyway," Carlisle explains. "Her gift is not powerful enough to break the bond between mates, and I don't believe she could break family ties such as ours."

"Could she break up our pack?" John asks.

"No," Carlisle says. "You are all bound very tightly together, and she cannot disrupt that."

Ben voices what we've all been thinking. "But she can make us bond to the Volturi?"

Carlisle pauses for a moment. "Yes and no."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

Bella speaks up. "She can't take John, Ben, Kyle, or Alex, because they're already bound to you, Brian."

"But she can get me?" I ask carefully.

She nods grimly.

I force myself to say my thoughts out loud, though I don't want to. "If she gets me, does she get all of us?"

Jake answers. "Chelsea or no Chelsea, they have to follow you, Brian."

My pack stares at me, legitimately terrified.

We don't speak until we cross back into La Push. Safe at home, I pull over and stop the car. Then I ask what I'm sure we're all thinking.

"What are we going to do?"

No one answers.

"Guys, seriously," I moan. "I'm scared!"

"You're scared?!" Ben says incredulously. "What about us?"

"Ben, shut up," John snaps from the passenger seat.

I drum nervously on the steering wheel. "I don't want to hurt you guys," I mumble.

"We know," Kyle promises.

Again, silence falls in the car. Finally, John hesitantly says, "I have an idea, but I don't think you're going to like it."

Gee, that sounds promising. "Shoot," I say.

"Maybe you should lay low for a while," he suggests. "Take some time off."

"You mean not phase?" I gasp.

"That's not a bad idea," Ben says. "After all, she can't do anything to us."

"Yeah, and you can still set patrols and everything," Kyle adds. "You just won't run."

"I don't know, guys," I say. "I don't like the idea of not being able to help if there's a problem, or check out a trail, or-"

"How about just for a little while?" John suggests. "Like two months?"

"Two months!" I shout.

"Fine, one month," John amends. "And if there has been zero activity, you'll come back."

I start, "I still don't-"

Alex interrupts me. "Think of it this way, Brian. You can catch up on sleep!"

"Yeah, you really deserve a break," Ben agrees.

I feel outnumbered and outvoted. I don't like this. I don't like the idea of them being out there by themselves. I'm supposed to protect them! But would not phasing really protect them more? Also, I feel like I'd be missing out. I honestly do like being a werewolf! I like running! I like patrols! I don't even mind being hopelessly sleep deprived. Being a werewolf is the best thing that ever happened to me. I have great friends and a purpose in life. I don't want to lose that.

"What are you thinking?" John asks me.

I take a deep breath. "I feel like I'm getting kicked out of my own club."

"Brian, you're still Alpha," Alex reminds me.

"Yeah, we'll still report to you every morning," Kyle adds.

"And we're together all the time, wolf or not," Ben points out.

"If she doesn't show up, then you'll come back," John says.

They all stare at me expectantly. I still don't like the plan, and seriously consider pulling rank and telling them all that there is no way I'm not phasing. They'd have to listen. But that's the problem here anyway. They have to do what I say, which is fine because I don't push my authority. But if someone else makes me…

"Fine," I grumble. "One month."

They all seem very relieved. That shouldn't bug me, but it does. I don't like that they're afraid of me.

I look at the clock on the dashboard. It's just after midnight. "John, Kyle, can you finish up patrol tonight? She probably won't come back, but you never know."

John replies with an exaggerated salute and a "Got it, Chief!"

They both slip out of the car and run into the woods. With Ben and Alex in the backseat, I start the engine and drive home.


	7. Loneliness

**The penalty of leadership is loneliness. -H. Wheeler Robinson**

The one bright side to my werewolf sabbatical is that I finally get to sleep. I honestly forgot what it felt like to not be tired. But other than my new, more awake view of life I'm miserable.

For one thing, it's awful not phasing! Every little annoying thing that happens in my life is like a twig added to a pile of firewood. When I phase, I get to burn all those twigs and start over. Since I'm not phasing, the pile of firewood is steadily growing into a huge bonfire. I'm not sure how long I can do this. I'm constantly on edge. If it wasn't for this extra sleep, I would lose it.

Even though the guys still include me on everything and report to me every morning, I feel like I'm missing out. I miss the fun of running with one of my best friends. I miss laughing and joking and racing. Sitting together at lunch is not the same.

Worst of all, I'm bored to death. I spent the first six months of my sophomore year with no free time. When I wasn't running, I was catching up on school. When I wasn't doing homework, I was sleeping. My grades are now through the roof and I have no need for Red Bull. Honestly, I hate it. I'm so bored.

I moaned about it to Taylor one day in Chem. "I don't even know what to do!"

"What did you do with yourself last year?" she asked.

"I don't even remember. Probably more homework, though," I grumbled.

She laughed. "Then do more homework!"

"I can't," I moaned. "I'm too used to doing it quickly."

"Why don't you come over, then?" she suggested. "You can help me with my homework."

After that conversation, I spent a lot less time being bored, and a lot more time with Taylor. I'd go to her house, she'd come to mine. We always got our homework done, but we also got a lot of talking done, too. We talked about everything we could think of, and it was great. She even asked me a lot of questions about werewolves. This time, I open up to her completely, even about the guard dog issue.

"Are you scared?" she asked.

Part of me wanted to be strong for her, but I decided to just be honest. "Terrified. But I feel like we're going to be okay in the end."

It's Friday afternoon, and I haven't phased in three weeks. I would be in an awful mood, but I'm with Taylor. We're going to "study" for Monday's Chem test, but I doubt we'll get much reviewing in. Lately we're spending more and more time talking, and I love it.

Taylor shivers slightly as we reach her house. "Are you cold?" I ask.

"Yeah, but we'll be inside in-" Before she can finish, I take off my hoodie and hand it to her.

"Honestly, Brian, I'm fine!" she insists.

I force it into her hands. "Take it. I don't get cold anymore," I laugh.

She smiles and puts it on. "It smells like you."

"Sorry," I apologize. "It's clean."

She blushes. "No, it smells good."

Taylor goes to unlock her front door, but it's already open. That's unusual. Both her parents work, so we usually have the house to ourselves. Not that we need privacy. Even if I wish we did.

"Hello?" Taylor calls into her house.

Her mom answers. "Hi honey!"

We walk further inside and find Mrs. Madison in the living room. "Mom, why aren't you at work?" Taylor asks.

"I had a migraine this morning, so I decided to stay home," she explains. She looks at me, a small smile on her face. "Brian Clearwater. It's been a while!"

I smile. "How are you, Mrs. Madison?"

"Good, good," she says. "I can't believe you two are friends! How many times did I have to call your mother about some crazy thing you kids did?"

"Too many," I laugh.

"I find it so ironic you two bonded in Chemistry!" she laughs. "I don't know if you know this, but your dad and I kind of had a thing in high school."

"Oh?" As far as I know, Dad only ever dated Mom and vice versa.

"Ask him about it," she says. "My name was Miranda Summers back then. I just moved here and your dad helped me catch up in Chem, and we went out a little." She shrugs in an "it's no big deal" kind of way.

I really hate to be rude, but I can't help seeing a hole in her story. "So you met in Chem?"

"Yep. He sat next to me," she nods. "Come to think of it, I think your mom was in that class too."

"So you were sophomores then?" I ask.

"Uh huh."

"It's just-" I try to be as polite as I can as I say, "My parents started dating as freshmen, and they've been together ever since. So they would have already been dating when you moved here."

Mrs. Madison stares at me, obviously caught in her lie. Beside me, Taylor bites back a laugh.

Trying to save herself, Mrs. Madison abruptly changes the subject. "Well, if you kids need anything, let me know!"

"C'mon," Taylor says, taking my hand.

She leads me into her room and shuts the door. Once it clicks shut I say, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass your mom."

"No it was hilarious!" Taylor exclaims. "My mom thinks every guy she sees likes her, it drives my dad crazy!"

I smirk. "I think I do remember my mom mentioning a Miranda, though."

"And what did she say?" Taylor asks curiously.

"Something about a poor girl fighting a hopeless battle with an imprinted werewolf."

"Your dad imprinted on your mom?" she asks. We've discussed nearly everything about werewolves, including the old pack, but neither of us has brought up imprinting before.

"Yeah. They've been best friends since kindergarten and he imprinted on her when they were fifteen," I say.

She pauses to ponder something. "Then they started going out?"

"Not right away," I reply.

"Why not?" she asks.

"My mom was kind of weirded out about the whole thing," I admit.

"Did your dad have to explain everything to her?" she asks.

"No, she knew," I explain. "It's just that she was afraid that it would complicate their friendship."

Taylor nods. "That makes sense. Was it weird?"

"My dad said it wasn't weird for him, because imprinting is a lot like being her best friend," I say. "It's just like he suddenly had a crush on her."

"So what did they do?" Taylor asks.

"Nothing at first, but eventually my mom started liking him. Then they went out."

"And they've been together ever since," Taylor says, repeating my story.

"Yeah," I confirm.

"Are you the only one from your pack to imprint?" she asks.

I'm a little caught off guard. It's one thing to bring up imprinting itself, but we've definitely never discussed me imprinting.

"Yeah," I say carefully.

Taylor looks almost disappointed. "Oh. I thought maybe John and Cara?"

I laugh. "No, that's just a normal crush."

"But they're really cute together," she smiles.

"Yeah, they are," I agree.

Taylor sighs. "I wish Kyle would imprint."

That comment surprises me, too. "Why?"

She hesitates, then says, "I want him to be happy." Then she changes the subject. "Are you doing anything fun this weekend?"

"Not really." Is she inviting me to hang out again? Please say yes!

"Me neither," she says. "Except tomorrow morning I'm meeting my friend Christy in Forks."

My heart nearly stops. "You're going to Forks?"

"Yeah." She looks at my face. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I say slowly. "It's just that my last trip to Forks wasn't that great." I still have nightmares about Newton's.

Taylor knows that story and says quickly. "Don't worry, Brian, it'll be broad daylight!"

"They can still come out in the day," I remind her.

"But I'll be fine, I promise!" she says reassuringly.

I don't like this idea, but there isn't anything I can do to stop her. "Will you at least call me when you get there, just so I know you're safe?"

Taylor looks at me with a small smile on her face. "Of course."


	8. Calm Composure

**Nothing baffles the schemes of evil people so much as the calm composure of great souls. -Gabriel Riqueti Mirabeau**

The next morning I sit anxiously at my kitchen table trying to eat breakfast, but glance at my phone in between bites. Still no call from Taylor. She never told me exactly what time to expect a call, so I shouldn't be worried. I shouldn't be worried, but I am anyway.

Alex stumbles through the backdoor, yawning. "Morning," I call, glancing at my phone again.

"Morning," he yawns. "Nothing happened last night."

Of course. "Mom had to go to work today, but she left waffle mix. You just have to make it."

Alex nods through another yawn and goes to pour the mix into the waffle maker. "Are you afraid your phone's going to run away or something?" he asks as I steal another look at my silent phone.

"Taylor's in Forks, and I asked her to call me when she got there," I explain.

"Overprotective much?" he mumbles.

"Remember what happened last time I went to Forks?" I remind him.

Alex shrugs. "I ran all night and there is no sign of any bloodsuckers. She'll be fine."

My phone rings and I immediately answer. "There you are! I was getting worried!"

No answer.

"Taylor?" I say. Do we have a bad connection?

Suddenly there is a high-pitched, ear-piercing scream on the other end of the phone. She sounds terrified and in horrible, awful pain.

"Taylor?!" I shout into the phone. Alex looks up at me, but I barely notice.

The screaming stops and is replaced by a voice saying, "Hey, Brian!" It's a familiar voice, but it's not Taylor's.

It's Jane.

I can't breathe. I can't think. What the hell?!

Jane keeps talking. "Are you alone?"

Somehow I manage to answer, "No."

"Then be alone," she hisses.

I look up at Alex, who mouths "Is everything okay?"

I cover the mouthpiece of the phone as I stand up. I walk out of the kitchen with a dismissive, "Yeah, bad connection."

I lock myself in my room and bark into the phone, "What do you want?"

"Are you alone?" Jane asks, bored.

"Yes, now what do you-" Another round of Taylor's screams cut me off. I bite my tongue to keep from screaming myself.

"So I ran into your friend Taylor today," Jane continues as casually as though we were discussing the weather. "I can see why you like her. She's a very well-informed and cooperative girl."

I take a careful breath and say as calmly as I can, "What do you want?"

"It's not what I want," she explains. "It's what you want."

"What do I want then?" I growl.

"You want to help Taylor," she says this matter-of-factly. "So you're going to want to come and meet us."

"Where?" I grumble, closing my eyes.

"There's an abandoned firehouse just outside of Forks. Do you know where that is?"

I bite back a bitter laugh. That firehouse is a mile or two inside the border we've been running for months. That's how we keep losing them. We've been running around their hideout all this time.

"I do," I say.

"Then I guess we'll see you soon," Jane says with a cruel smile in her voice. "Oh and Brian?"

"What?" I snap.

"Come alone," she orders. "And human." I hear Taylor scream again, then the line goes dead.

I throw my phone on my bed and sit beside it. I exhale and put my head in my hands. I can't believe this is happening. I haven't phased in three weeks, but that isn't going to protect my pack. They've got us. They've got me.

If it were anyone else, I might be able to ignore Jane and go on looking after my pack. If she had Mom, even, I could probably choose my pack over her. As much as it would kill me, I could chose to sacrifice one human life to protect my four friends from an eternity of servitude. Mom would understand. I think Taylor would, too. But I can't leave Taylor.

If it were anyone else, I would chose my pack, but I have to help Taylor. It's Taylor. The imprinted werewolf in me physically will not allow me any choice that hurts her. Jane knows that. I have to sacrifice my pack to save Taylor. I hope they understand. I don't have a choice and neither do they.

Hating myself, I stand up and quickly get dressed. I slip my phone into my pocket and head out the door. Alex is still eating his waffle in the kitchen and looks up as I enter.

"Everything okay?" he asks.

"Yeah. Taylor's friend can't make it and she needs a ride home," I lie easily. "I should be back soon."

Alex watches me carefully as I take the car keys off their hook. Something in his face makes me wonder if he knows anything, but I brush it off as me being paranoid.

"Be careful," he calls as I walk out the back door. I swear under my breath and hate myself even more.

I cut the engine but don't pull the keys out of the ignition. As I stare at the old firehouse I wonder again if I'm doing the right thing. Again, I agree that I'm not. The right thing to do would be to protect my pack. They're completely loyal to me, the least I can do is keep them from lives as guard dogs. But that doesn't change anything. I have to save Taylor. The entire drive I alternated between gas and break, Taylor and my pack. But I'm here, and I know that this is the only choice.

Taking the keys out of the ignition, I leave my car and walk to the door of the firehouse. I take a deep breath of the bloodsucker-tainted air and go inside. As the door slams shut behind me I am engulfed by the darkness. "Hello?" I call.

One set of lights flickers on, leaving the majority of the firehouse still in shadows. From the shadows emerges a tiny little brunette.

"Hello, Brian," Jane smiles wickedly. "You're smaller than I expected."

I ignore the dig and instead snap, "Where's Taylor?"

Jane rolls her eyes. "Typical man. You only have one thing on your mind."

Another figure emerges from the shadows, a taller brunette with long, curly hair that I immediately recognize as the leech from Newton's. She has a tight grip on Taylor, who stares at me with a terrified face almost as pale as her captor's. Taylor is wearing my hoodie, which explains how they found her. She smells like me.

"I believe you've met Maggie?" Jane says pleasantly.

Maggie flashes a devilish grin. "You're cute, Alpha Wolf. Shame you're taken."

"Let her go," Jane orders. Maggie immediately releases Taylor, who runs to me.

"Brian, I'm so sorry!" she cries into my chest.

I hug her tightly and breathe, "It's okay, you're okay." Then I look up at Jane, who is watching us, amused. "What now?"

"Taylor tells me you already know a lot about us," Jane begins. "But I'd like to tell you a little more about the Volturi."

I don't answer, so Jane continues. "See, Brian, we have a lot in common."

I can't help snorting. "Really?" I ask sarcastically.

"You're very loyal and dedicated to your pack," she starts. "Just like we're loyal and dedicated to our coven."

I feel like I've been punched in the stomach. "If that were true I wouldn't be here," I grumble.

"You don't consider Taylor part of your pack?" Jane questions.

"She's not a wolf," I reply.

"She's not immortal, like you are," Jane corrects. "But she could be."

I know what she's implying, and I don't like it. I hold Taylor closer to my chest.

"Brian, you're going to lose her eventually. She's human," Jane says matter-of-factly. "But with us she could live as long as you."

"I'm human," I remind her.

"Only if you stop phasing," she reminds me. "Instead of living a short life as humans, you could live forever as immortals."

As much as I hate it, I don't have an argument for that. Forever with Taylor? The idea does sound wonderful. But do I really want to keep phasing forever?

"I'll stop phasing eventually," I say, more to myself than Jane.

Jane shakes her head. "Why? You've spent most of your life bullied and ignored. But now you have power, authority, purpose." She raises an eyebrow. "Do you really want to give that up?"

When you put it that way, it doesn't sound too bad. And if Taylor was with me, it would be fantastic. Plus my pack would be there, too.

This is ridiculous. I thought I was going to be forced into a life as a guard dog. I didn't expect Jane to persuade me to join them. And I really didn't expect her to make sense. I can't believe I'm actually considering this, but part of me is.

The sensible part of me decides to start talking. "You're forgetting one major difference between us, Jane."

"Oh?" she smirks.

"I'm dedicated to protecting human life and destroying bloodsuckers like you," I snarl.

Jane laughs. "Really? Because you didn't protect human life back in October."

I look at Maggie's cocky face and the memory of Newton's comes back in a painful rush. "There was nothing I could do," I choke out. It's the same thing I've been telling myself for months.

"You could have avenged her death," Jane suggests with a dark smile. "You could have ensured that no one else met the same fate. Better yet, you could have stopped Maggie before she killed that girl. She's been here since August and you never went after her. You didn't follow me a few weeks ago. You never even knew that we've been right inside your patrol lines for months."

I have a hard time getting air into my lungs. She's completely right. Still, I don't want to admit it, so I offer the same excuse I gave myself, "We didn't know what we were up against. I didn't want to risk it."

Jane shakes her head. "Not exactly the response I'd expect from someone dedicated to destroying bloodsuckers." She smiles. "But an excellent response from a good leader who wants to protect his charges. That's exactly what we do. We protect each other."

I don't like this at all. Jane is getting inside my head and making me question myself and my pack. Do I really want to kill vampires? I've had the chance and never went for it. I really like being a wolf, and it might not be too bad as a permanent thing. Jake likes it. Plus, if I had Taylor with me…

But there's another thing that's been bugging me this entire time. I smell a third vampire. "I don't want to be tricked," I tell Jane.

"I'd never trick you, Brian," she says sincerely.

"Then why don't you introduce me to your friend that's hiding?" I say calmly.

Jane seems slightly surprised, but still only smiles and replies, "Of course. Chelsea? Come meet Brian."

A third vampire with a proud face and crimson eyes comes from the shadows. She has a tight grip on a blonde, blue-eyed girl that must be Taylor's friend Christy. Chelsea walks to Maggie and throws Christy at her. "Hold it, will you?"

In that moment, I can see the situation clearly for the first time.

"See, Brian? No tricks," Jane smiles.

I nod, looking away from Christy. "You're right. You've been completely honest with me, and I appreciate that."

Jane opens her mouth to interrupt, but I keep talking. "But you just ruined any chance you had of convincing me to join you," I tell her.

"What do you-?" Jane starts.

I cut her off. "Maybe we have a lot in common. Maybe I'm a terrible vampire hunter. But I know one thing for sure." I jerk my head in Christy's direction. "I look at that girl and I see Christy. She's a girl with friends, family, a future. I see a person. You see dinner." I pause for a second, then say. "I will never willingly work with someone who doesn't see Christy, or any other human, as a person."

Maggie stares at me, flabbergasted and Jane glares at me. Chelsea just frowns and says, "I'm sorry you feel that way, Brian." Her frown flips into a cruel smile. "For now."

Well, this is it. I know I'm about to become a guard dog and doom my pack. I hold Taylor tightly, taking comfort in the fact that Chelsea can't stop me from caring about her. But in a moment I might not feel the same way about Christy.

I look up and watch Chelsea, who is frowning slightly. Should this be taking this long? Jane seems to be having the same thought. "Chelsea?" she asks.

Chelsea is confused. "Something's blocking me!"

I hear the firehouse doors open as a voice behind me says, "Or someone."

Bella is immediately next to me, and in another instant the entire Cullen clan is surrounding Taylor and me. My pack and Jake, all in wolf form, file in behind them. Kyle runs over to where Christy and Maggie are and growls. Maggie freaks out and runs to stand by Jane and Chelsea. Christy freaks out by passing out. Kyle whines slightly, then stands protectively over her.

There is an awkward pause, which Jane breaks with a would-be casual, "Carlisle. Aro hopes you're well?"

"We are, thank you," Carlisle replies pleasantly. "And, Jane, if you would be so kind as to deliver a message to Aro for me?"

"Of course," she says kindly.

"Tell him that we consider the wolf pack of La Push to be part of our family." He puts a hand on my shoulder, and I don't even notice the cold. "You know we're very protective of our family. As long as we are around, we will protect these boys and their descendants from any forced servitude." His tone is casual enough, but there is a definite threat beneath the surface.

Jane's mouth twitches. "Of course," she grumbles.

"And if you would take care to avoid hunting in the nearby area on your way home, we would all appreciate it," Carlisle adds. I smile.

Jane nods, then nervously turns to leave. Chelsea and Maggie follow her as she walks slowly from the firehouse and breaks into a sprint at the door.

For a second, I can't react. Then I let out a relieved laugh. I turn to Carlisle. "Thank you."

He nods. "Of course. We truly do think of you as family," he smiles carefully.

I smile back. "We feel the same way."

Nessie rolls her eyes and punches my shoulder. "You are family!" she insists. "You're my nephew, for crying out loud!"

"Want me to call you Aunt Nessie?" I joke.

She shudders. "Please, I look like I could be your sister. Your younger sister."

I laugh again, just because I'm so relived. I hug Taylor closer to my chest. "Are you okay?" I breathe.

She sniffs, "I'm so sorry, Brian!"

"Don't be, everything is okay," I promise. She tries to look up at me, but I force her head down. "Hold on, let the guys put pants on first."

She laughs, then whispers, "You really picked me over them?"

This time I let her look up as I say, "Of course."

"Yeah, thanks for that, Brian," Alex snaps sarcastically.

I frown and say, "I'm really sorry guys."

John shrugs. "Save it. We understand."

"How did you know to come?" I ask.

Alex answers, "I overheard enough of your phone conversation to know something was up with Taylor, so I called John." He shrugs as if to say "it's nothing."

"And I got Ben and Kyle and the Cullens," John says.

"But how did you know where I was?" I ask.

Alex rolls his eyes. "You know your phone has a tracking device in it, right?"

I stare at him. "I do now."

Ben shakes his head. "And you're our leader."

"A sucky one, yes, but there you go," I laugh. So do the guys. It's such a relief to know that it's over. The bloodsuckers are gone and it's over.

"Is Christy okay?" Taylor asks, pulling away from me slightly.

Maybe it's not over. In my relief I forgot the poor girl who is still unconscious on the floor. I really have to focus on these things.

Carlisle and a very pale Kyle are beside Christy, and Carlisle answers, "She was obviously very afraid and simply fainted. She should be up in a minute or two."

As if on cue, she starts groaning. Color rushes back into Kyle's face as he relaxes. Christy sits up, holding her head.

"Good morning, beautiful!" Kyle smiles contently.

Christy stares at him. "Am I dead?"

He laughs in a very not-Kyle way. His face resembles that of an overpaid actor in a chick-flick. "No, you're fine. I promise you're safe now."

"But you're too hot to call me beautiful," Christy says matter-of-factly. "And I had the strangest dream. Taylor and I got attacked by vampires and there were giant wolves and-" she looks around and sees the large group of people. "What happened?"

Kyle stares at her, wonderstruck. He looks as though he finally found the last piece of a very difficult puzzle. He smiles as though all his dreams have come true. "Don't worry," he breathes. "I can explain everything."

Taylor whispers to me, "Did he just imprint on her?"

I stare at my number one. "I think so."

"Good." She smiles from Kyle to me. "That means I can finally do this."

Before I can ask what "this" is, Taylor tilts her head to kiss me. I like "this." And this time, she doesn't punch me.


	9. Acknowledgements

I know, I know, I'm breaking the rules again, but I really have to thank you all again!

So thank you.

Thank you to infinity and beyond and back again!

I thought of this story while I was still writing my first series, and I really didn't think I'd ever actually write it! But thank you so much for supporting me and making me want to write another series!

This is my last Twilight fanfic, mostly because I've exhausted my powers of writing fanfiction! I'm going to work on original stories from now on… After all, this series isn't real a fanfic fanfic, you know? This was more of an original story with training wheels! Haha!

But thank you for supporting me and encouraging me! I love every comment and message I get, and I save them all on my computer for days when I think I'm a terrible writer who doesn't deserve to pick up a pen! You have all encouraged me to write, and I hope you always like what I write, even if it isn't about Twilight.

Thank you once again for all your reviews and likes! And even if you never commented, but still read it and enjoyed it, thank you. To have people like you enjoy what I write is the best gift of all!

Thank you!

nrlmuffins


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